We awoke fresh and ready to mark off an ambitious trek to New Mexico, deciding to travel further in one day to give us more time at sites in Arizona. Fort Smith had a great preserved fort on the edge of town, when the Arkansas fort stood guard against the “Indian territory” in Oklahoma. Ironically, this was situated on a Trail of Tears monument.
After a fantastic Chick-Fil-A breakfast, we started to climb in elevation to the West. Trees became sparse and we were soon driving through a flat, endless grassland. After a few hours of nothingness, we stopped in Oklahoma City to see the 1995 bombing memorial. Parking across the street, we were struck by the simple beauty of the monument.
The eerie beauty hung in our hearts, as we can’t experience someone else’s pain without our own coming back to life. The memorial has 168 chairs, one for each victim within the former perimeter of the Murrah building.
Wreckage and the original foundation were preserved to give a sense of the chaos on that April day. (It was April 19th, 1995) After briefly studying specific incidents of car bomb acts of terrorism, it was sobering to witness the results here in America.
Along the former foundation of the building is a shallow reflecting pool, with the shadows of the times floating on top. 9:01…9:03. The most unique part of the memorial is a standard chain-link fence eructed in the days following the bombing to protect the cleanup effort. This fence is still strewn with personal items of remembrance and kept in place for that purpose.
After April 16th in Blacksburg, visiting these sites has taken a deeper meaning for us. It was difficult leaving. We were silent for a while, until we encountered wind farms. I have never seen these out in the open, and was impressed in their size and number. After Arkansas, we dipped into the Pan-handle of Texas, so AJ got a taste of his home state.
It was an awesome feeling driving through Texas knowing that we were ‘driving through!’ Amarillo was a seemingly endless strip of hotels, but we got off on a frontage road to find a grocery store. We greedily ate a half pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream… really just manna from heaven.
Unfortunately you cannot buy the brand outside of Texas. It was fantastic! Luckily, we gained an extra hour of driving with the time change to Mountain Time, getting 2 hours behind our native eastern time. We crossed over into New Mexico, and by this point the land had become decidedly more desert like, but grassy still.
Large billboards proclaimed fast food and hotels miles in advance, as well as an assortment of native gifts and sites to see. We had run into historic route 66 and would stay along it into Santa Rosa, NM for the evening. We spent the night in the black New Mexico desert, watching a grumbling thunderstorm light up the sky with an impressive array of lightning.
We awoke fresh and ready to mark off an ambitious trek to New Mexico, deciding to travel further in one day to give us more time at sites in Arizona. Fort Smith had a great preserved fort on the edge of town, when the Arkansas fort stood guard against the “Indian territory” in Oklahoma. Ironically, this was situated on a Trail of Tears monument. 
After a fantastic Chick-Fil-A breakfast, we started to climb in elevation to the West. Trees became sparse and we were soon driving through a flat, endless grassland. After a few hours of nothingness, we stopped in Oklahoma City to see the 1995 bombing memorial. Parking across the street, we were struck by the simple beauty of the monument. 
The eerie beauty hung in our hearts, as we can’t experience someone else’s pain without our own coming back to life. The memorial has 168 chairs, one for each victim within the former perimeter of the Murrah building. 
Wreckage and the original foundation were preserved to give a sense of the chaos on that April day. (It was April 19th, 1995) After briefly studying specific incidents of car bomb acts of terrorism, it was sobering to witness the results here in America. 
Along the former foundation of the building is a shallow reflecting pool, with the shadows of the times floating on top. 9:01…9:03. The most unique part of the memorial is a standard chain-link fence eructed in the days following the bombing to protect the cleanup effort. This fence is still strewn with personal items of remembrance and kept in place for that purpose.
After April 16th in Blacksburg, visiting these sites has taken a deeper meaning for us. It was difficult leaving. We were silent for a while, until we encountered wind farms. I have never seen these out in the open, and was impressed in their size and number. After Arkansas, we dipped into the Pan-handle of Texas, so AJ got a taste of his home state. 
It was an awesome feeling driving through Texas knowing that we were ‘driving through!’ Amarillo was a seemingly endless strip of hotels, but we got off on a frontage road to find a grocery store. We greedily ate a half pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream… really just manna from heaven. 
Unfortunately you cannot buy the brand outside of Texas. It was fantastic! Luckily, we gained an extra hour of driving with the time change to Mountain Time, getting 2 hours behind our native eastern time. We crossed over into New Mexico, and by this point the land had become decidedly more desert like, but grassy still. 
Large billboards proclaimed fast food and hotels miles in advance, as well as an assortment of native gifts and sites to see. We had run into historic route 66 and would stay along it into Santa Rosa, NM for the evening. We spent the night in the black New Mexico desert, watching a grumbling thunderstorm light up the sky with an impressive array of lightning. 
I feel like I am on the trip with you. You write so well. love aunt sandy
ReplyDeleteBLUE BELL!!!! YES!!!!! oh MAN do i miss being able to buy that stuff.... no one understands, I'm glad you guys do.
ReplyDeleteAJ looks mad in that picture - how's the poor boy doing?
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it safe to CA. Its fun reading all your journeys. Colin asks about all three of you every day and when are you coming over to play! And when I tell him you're in CA he always goes OK.Can't wait til you blog about the rest of your trip. esp grand canyon pictures!
abigail